Membership Scheme

Why are you doing this?

Because we think local news and information matters, and lots of people have told us they want the SE1 website to keep going. Now's your chance to help that happen.

Where does the SE1 website get its money from at present?

Before we launched the membership scheme in autumn 2016, the biggest single income stream was advertising, mostly powered by the Google AdSense service.

We also earn money through restaurant bookings and hotel bookings.

For a while, the website's income more or less matched the costs.

But costs have gone up and revenue has gone down, so we're barely earning enough to cover web hosting and office expenses, let alone the cost of producing our content.

Who are the people behind the SE1 website?

The SE1 website is published by Bankside Press Ltd. Its shareholders and directors are James Hatts, Leigh Hatts and Marion Marples.

As a family, we've been running the website for the past 21 years.

Why should I trust you?

We hope our two-decade track record of local publishing speaks for itself. This isn't an unproven start-up - we've been delivering our core product of high quality local news for nearly two decades.

What will you do with the money?

We need your help if the website is to keep going. We want to keep on breaking stories about the Garden Bridge, about planning and regeneration and what Lambeth and Southwark councils are up to. We also want to provide more audio and video coverage of local events.

If I take out a subscription, can I influence what goes on the website?

Members don't get any special privileges when it comes to our news reporting or forum moderation decisions.

Are you putting a paywall around your content?

No. All our articles will remain free to read.

How did you choose the subscription price levels?

We took a number of factors into consideration.

We looked at the price of local newspapers. If you bought every issue of the South London Press and the Southwark News, it would cost you £5.60 a month. Our basic subscription level is £5.

We looked at the price of a cup of coffee. A flat white costs £3 in Tate Modern. On that basis, our monthly subscription is cheaper than two cups of coffee.